Brick Work

Today was a great brick workout for me. The weather was mid-90's with wind coming out of the south.  We picked a bike route that would take us into the wind for only about 5 miles of the 24 mile route. We hit a stopping point just after mile 16 and I was surprised to see that we were under the 1 hour mark meaning our average speed was above 16.  It certainly didn't feel like we were doing that well when we were heading into the headwind. 

The ride was pretty uneventful...we got just under 24 miles in and averaged right at 17.0 mph.  As we passed through the last neighborhood on the route, we got to pass by a police speed limit sign.  It had a radar gun in it that listed out your speed versus the posted speed limit.  It was so much fun to speed up and see how fast I could sprint in for that sign...I managed to hit 25 mph!

We finished up the ride and I headed out on a short run.  I took a quick potty stop at Chick-Fil-A and then continued on for about 2 miles total.  The run didn't feel that awesome until probably 3/4 mile had passed by but once my legs switched over things weren't so bad.  I averaged just under 10 min miles which would be awesome for me to do in a race.  I've struggled with my runs during triathlons so I hope at my next one on September 12th I'll be able to remember today's training day pace and try to go a little faster.  If you don't follow Bree Wee, she is a pro-triathlete that just placed 3rd at Ironman Kentucky on Sunday.  Her racing plan for that race was to view the race as a training day only slightly faster.  Her blog is so open and honest and it is great that she had such an awesome race this weekend.

After I got home, I decided to try out an ice bath.  I loaded up the tub and then emptied my ice maker into the tub.  I tried to get in without disturbing the water too much since it seemed colder when it was in motion.  I had on a polar fleece jacket to help ward off the chill and my new issue of Fitness magazine to keep me entertained.  A lesson I learned was that I need to make more ice for the future.  The water stayed cool but didn't stay as icy as I suspect it should be.  I also forgot to put a clock nearby so I wasn't sure how much time had passed.  Hopefully my legs will be thankful for the ice bath tomorrow!